Economist and West African Regional Director of CUTS International, Appiah Kusi Adomako, has called on government to adopt a sector-sensitive approach to foreign investor regulations instead of pursuing a blanket removal of the minimum capital rule.
He warned that wholesale elimination could expose local businesses to unfair competition in areas such as retail and services, where indigenous firms remain highly vulnerable.
“If we scrap the requirement across the board, foreign investors could easily dominate sensitive sectors. Ghana needs tailored safeguards to ensure FDI supports, rather than displaces, local enterprise,” Mr. Adomako argued.
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Learning from Global Best Practices
Citing examples from Vietnam, Rwanda, and South Africa, Adomako stressed that smart, sector-based thresholds protect key industries while still encouraging foreign capital inflows.
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Vietnam sets higher capital requirements for capital-intensive sectors like hospitals but lowers them for lighter industries such as software development.
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Rwanda, despite removing general requirements, kept safeguards in strategic sectors like mining and tourism.
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South Africa differentiates thresholds, shielding small local businesses in retail while welcoming large-scale foreign investment in mining and finance.
“These examples show that investment rules should be flexible, proportional, and aligned to policy goals, rather than arbitrary and uniform,” he explained.
Aligning with International Guidelines
Adomako further noted that frameworks from the OECD and UNCTAD caution against one-size-fits-all barriers, instead advocating rules that are transparent, proportionate, and growth-oriented.
He added that Ghana retains significant policy space under ECOWAS and AfCFTA agreements to design its own foreign investment framework.
The Bottom Line
While the government is eager to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI), Adomako insists that the reform must be informed by global lessons. “What matters is ensuring foreign capital complements—not crowds out—local enterprise,” he said to Accra Street Journal.
Last Updated on March 9, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu
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Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.
